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The only thing your going to be able to learn that would be close to any type of fighting a mando might know is Krav Magaw, Israeli spec-ops fighting. It's a very practical and in your face style of fighting, probably something close to what a mando would have used.

Other than that, there is no such thing nor is there any explanation of such things in any books (yet).

As a martial artist, an instructor, a former law enforcement individual, and a fan of star wars galaxy, I am going to try to answer this question. However, I am not claiming to be an expert on any one subject, especially martial arts OR mandalorian history/culture. So, before you send me a msg about how wrong I am,.. please understand that I mean from the bottom of my heart,.. "get over it."

There is no established martial arts system originating from Mando culture. However, as a historical fighting race with specialties in mercenary, bounty, and security work, its almost a given that there WOULD be a mando martial art. The mandalorians were far too thorough and realistic to assume that their weapons and technology would always be enough to win the battle.

So, now the question is "What type of martial art would evolve in a mandalore culture?". NovallTalon really did a good job of hitting the nail on the head. Mandalorians wouldn’t want a flowery martial art, similar to wushu or modern tae kwon do. Though both arts have their own legitimate advantages and ARE useful in a warfare or streetfight situation, they are very difficult styles to master. The years of training required to throw, flip, kick, and punch rapidly with the grace and speed of flashier martial arts, while still generating credible power, would be too long and too tedious to be accepted by the mandalorian mind set.

An style like Krav Maga is much more straight forward. It is about gross motor reflexes. Throwing elbows, knees, head butts. Guttural, brutal power moves that devastate an opponent rapidly. Imagine receiving any one of those strikes, delivered from a heavily armed attacker! ouch. Eye gouges, groin strikes, small joint manipulation, and other "illegal" moves are all a part of this style. Knife and gun defenses are also addressed in Krav Maga. Also, after a mandalorian soldier developed a basic mastery of a straight forward, no frills style like Krav Maga, he could accent his arsenal of hand-to-hand techniques with more advanced and more complex maneuvers.

For example, as a bounty hunter or bodyguard, "custody and control" geared martial arts would be a high priority to have a basic understanding of. Brazilian Jujitsu, small circle jujitsu, chin na kung fu, aikido, and any law enforcement used style would all fall in this category. These styles would involve the kind of techniques required to take an opponent down without killing or damaging them too much. Wrist locks and rear naked chokes fall in this category.

We'll assume a mandalorian would never assume his hand-to-hand skills are perfect and constantly strive to gain more knowledge to supplement his techniques. This means even more advanced techniques. Jump kicks, flips, edged weapons, improvised weapons, etc would all fall into this category. This is where the variety and the personal preferences begin to show. A long legged mandalorian would probably learn to kick. A mandalorian with a muscular build and a penchant for down and dirty fighting might learn how to grapple.

So,.. to break it down: ASSUMING there was a mandalorian martial art, it would MAYBE be geared to fit the needs of a its users.

First: a style like Krav Maga would be a good start to develop the skills to defend oneself and eliminate the enemy.

Second: Jujitsu, aikido, or any other law enforcement style would give an aspiring bounty hunter more skills to be used "on the job".

Third: After gaining a basic mastery of required skills, a mandalorian would develop a more personal, taylor made style of combat to suit them better.

AND: mastery of weapons is a martial art, with each device requiring its own style and skills to learn. GUN-FU if you will. kali, escrima, etc are all styles you should look into.

AND AGAIN: mandalorians lived in a galaxy with very different species with a wide variety of biological traits. IF a true mandalore style existed, it would have specialized techniques used for certain species and certain species only.

sooo,.. its all very complex. I probably was more confusing than helpful. LOL.

I think the question itself is silly - even with it being fictional, if you are asking what they would use it would be something that exist in the SW universe, it would not be one of our martial arts.
But an interesting reply none the less - although I would have to disagree with your #2, Django. I think it would be Hapkido not aikido. It is the more aggressive of the related styles, and would fit better. Maximum damage in the shortest time to end the fight as fast as possible. But then again that is just my opinion, and one on a goofy topic at best.

I would have to agree with the hapkido statement myself. Both are closely related, but hapkido seems more fit in the mandalorian needs and character. I would imagine that they would have some kind of training and tips for combat, but I think that an actual art would be stated as you would hear in any good dojo today. It's not about learning someone elses style, but mastering your own. This would probably be kept simple with the mando's and instead of labeling arts it would all fall under combat training. I am sure that they would use something short, simple and fast such as kempo (not best example), or hapkido, but more evolved to be used on a variety of species and armor. I am sure that they would try and stay away from form and any formalities, due to the assortment of enemies. And it would all in the end come down to guided self realization. I also believe, going off of the law enforcement thoughts from above, that they would be very fluent and any skills that come with stealth, such as ninjitsu, and any type of military sniper training. In the end, as always, the Mandalorians would always be the Perfect soldier, because of their battlefield awareness and their variety of combat training. They would be great at knowing vantage points and have great cadence. Know what to expect for their opponents, where to flank and ambush, and how to blend.

I didnt mention that I only listed martial arts that I have experience training in or have dealt with personally. Thats why I didn't list hapkido. Never been lucky enough to have an instructor, a friend, or an opponent versed in that style. I chose aikido simply because I've used it and had it used on me.

You'll notice how many IFs and MAYBEs and PROBABLYs i had. This is a conjecture thread. And my reasoning for my entire post was IF somebody (boba is killer) wanted to attempt to learn a martial art that would coincide with the character they enjoy most. An obvious example of this would be jedi fans that take fencing and kendo classes.

Whenever you talk about styles,.. these discussions always start. I officially ban myself from posting on this thread again.

I personaly think that all that have been said all have there good points. It should be a up in your face down and dirty style of fighting. I would try to find someone that could teach you Krav Magaw or Boevoe Sambo or simply Sambo. Boevoe Sambo is a Russian Special Forces style.

To add to what everybody else has mentioned, I'd imagine that Mando's would also get training in how to do their martial arts/hand to hand in full armor figuring that most of the time they're going to be running in their armor they'd have to know how to fight unarmed with it on. Given that, they'd probably also develop certain techniques that would compensate for the extra bulk and weight of the armor which would probably somewhat limit what they can do hand to hand wise.

One other martial art/hand to hand style to consider is MCMAP or Marine Corps Martial Arts Program which is not so much a style of its own per se but a combination of different styles and disciplines, sort of like Krav Maga. Where it differs from a lot other disciplines is that its techniques are designed to be flexible so that it can be used to simply temporarily disable an opponent for those operations where breaking limbs and cracking skulls may not be the best thing to do but at the same time the same techniques can be used on the battlefield where no holds barred fighting is the order of the day. This may not have as much use for Mando mercs but it would certainly prove to be useful for bounty hunters, especially during the days of the Old Republic where they might frown on a bounty being too beaten up.

sorry for the silly question and thanks for all answers. i agree it is a silly question and i asked because i was asked and thought an unusual thought and it was maybe there was such a fighting style designed by someone somewhere in the world.

sorry to be the guy to revive the thread but... isn't the popular star wars martial arts style (referenced in several books) called Teras Kasi? As I understand it from my readings and my limited martial arts training, it sounds like a mixture of Krav Maga and Jiu Jitsu, although since I only have background in Jiu Jitsu, Aikido and Krav Maga this is one of those "if your a hammer every problem looks like a nail" kind of situations I think. Just my two cents... but... as far as self-defense goes, I like Krav Maga because it's easy to learn and it relies on gross motor skills so it's easier to get right in the even that you are a lil... stressed (like the way you might be if u were being mugged). But for the sake of mando costuming... dude I wouldn't worry about it... just go join a MMA or martials arts gym of some kind for the fun of it or to learn to defend yourself, and remember... it's a defensive art, don't use it incorrectly lest ye face the consequences of the rule of law.

I'd imagine a mando fighting style would be suited to each and every mandalorians expertise. I.E a sniper would have a different style to a melee expert? I dunno. There probably wouldn't me a single style, though. I suspect it would be a mixed set of different arts.

in samurai culture, there different variations of jujutsu.... for example, Daito Ryu is one of the oldest and dangerous of the art, and you can see its decendents today in both Judo and Aikido. Aikido kept more of the techniques though. but both founders were taught by the Takada Clan. a clan from the Sengoku Period.

in China, theres over 400 arts, and they can be grouped into Northern and Southern, and are based around the suroundings. Southern styles have a very strong stance to account for marshy areas. while Northern has very long strikes and wide stances, which is where taikwondo and karate came from.

hell, you see a difference between Montross and Jango Fett in the Bounty Hunter game!